Shoe cushion and shock absorbing shoe comprising same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a cushion for use in a shoe and a shock absorbing shoe having the cushion. The shock absorbing shoe includes: a sole having a lower surface thereof contacted with the ground; a cushion disposed above the sole; and an upper disposed above the cushion. The cushion includes: a rigid frame defining an inner region corresponding to the shape of at least a part of a foot of a wearer; and an elastic member supported by the frame and disposed in the inner region to support the foot of the wearer. The sole has a groove formed on an upper portion thereof in order to provide a deformation space for the elastic member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0004934, filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office onJan. 16, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a shoe cushion and a shock absorbingshoe comprising the same.

2. Background Art

An insole, which is inserted into a shoe, generally supports a sole of awearer and functions as a cushion. The conventional insole has anearly-flat shape and is made of soft synthetic resin, and a fiber sheetis adhered to an upper surface thereof in order to absorb moisture andprevent slipping.

However, with this kind of construction, the elasticity range isexceeded when a weight is applied over a certain limit, therebyinevitably being unable to provide the cushion effect.

The related art of the present invention is disclosed in Korea PatentPublication No. 2011-0043175 (Apr. 27, 2011).

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a shoe cushion and a shock absorbing shoehaving the same that can facilitate a more adequate cushion by use of astructural elasticity in addition to a compression/restitution abilityof a material itself.

An aspect of the present invention provides a shock absorbing shoe thatincludes: a sole having a lower surface thereof contacted with theground; a cushion disposed above the sole; and an upper disposed abovethe cushion. The cushion includes: a rigid frame defining an innerregion corresponding to the shape of at least a part of a foot of awearer; and an elastic member supported by the frame and disposed in theinner region to support the foot of the wearer, The sole has a grooveformed on an upper portion thereof in order to provide a deformationspace for the elastic member.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a cushion for use in ashoe that includes: a rigid frame defining an inner region correspondingto the shape of at least a part of a foot of a wearer; and an elasticmember supported by the frame and disposed in the inner region tosupport the foot of the wearer.

The elastic member can include a first elastic layer and a secondelastic layer that are separated from each other and disposed above andbelow each other, and the elastic member can include a rubber band woundon the frame across the inner region in a direction perpendicular to alengthwise direction of the frame. The rubber band can be hollow inside.

The elastic member can have a plurality of slits formed thereon in adirection perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the frame, and theslits can be formed at a certain portion to which the foot of the weareris adhered.

A portion of the frame corresponding to an arch of the foot of thewearer can be protruded upwardly, and at least some portions of a frontportion and a rear portion in a lengthwise direction of the frame can becurved upwardly.

With certain embodiments of the present invention, a more adequate shockabsorbing structure can be realized by providing the deformation spacefor the elastic member in the sole of the shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a shock absorbingshoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the shock absorbing shoe inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a magnified cross-sectional view showing a portion of theshock absorbing shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a cushion in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing the cushion in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view showing a cushion in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Since there can be a variety of permutations and embodiments of thepresent invention, certain embodiments will be illustrated and describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. This, however, is by nomeans to restrict the present invention to certain embodiments, andshall be construed as including all permutations, equivalents andsubstitutes covered by the ideas and scope of the present invention.Throughout the description of the present invention, when describing acertain relevant conventional technology is determined to evade thepoint of the present invention, the pertinent detailed description willbe omitted.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of a shoe cushion and a shock absorbingshoe having the same in accordance with the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.Identical or corresponding elements will be given the same referencenumerals, regardless of the figure number, and any redundant descriptionof the identical or corresponding elements will not be repeated.

Firstly, a shock absorbing shoe 100 in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspectiveview illustrating the shock absorbing shoe 100 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectionalview showing the shock absorbing shoe 100 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the shock absorbing shoe 100 inaccordance with the present invention includes: a sole 140 having alower surface thereof contacted with the ground; a cushion 130 disposedabove the sole 140; and an upper 110 disposed above the cushion 130.Here, the cushion 130 includes: a rigid frame 132 defining an innerregion A corresponding to the shape of at least a part of a foot of awearer; and an elastic member 134 supported by the frame 132 anddisposed in the inner region A to support the foot of the wearer. Thesole 140 has a groove 145 formed on au upper portion thereof in order toprovide a deformation space for the elastic member 134.

As such, the shoe 100 in accordance with the present embodiment canfurther increase a cushioning effect by use of elastic deformation invertical directions as well as the simple compression/restitution of amember that performs a cushioning function. Specifically, the elasticmember 134, which supports the foot of the wearer, can make upward anddownward elastic deformations owing to the deformation space provided bythe groove 145 formed in the sole 140. As a result, an effect similar tousing a trampoline can be provided, thereby further improving thecushioning effect. Moreover, the shoe 100 in accordance with the presentembodiment can help the wearer enhance a muscular strength. Hereinafter,the configuration of the shock absorbing shoe 100 in accordance with thepresent embodiment will be described in more detail.

The sole 140 is a part that contacts the ground directly and functionsto create friction against the ground for a safe and swift walking. Thesole 140 can have various patterns of protrusions (not shown) ortrenches (not shown) formed on a bottom face thereof in order togenerate the friction against the ground. Moreover, the sole 140 canhave the groove 145 formed on the upper portion thereof, and the spacefor elastic deformation of the elastic member 134 of the cushion 130 isprovided by the groove 145.

The sole 140 has the cushion 130 disposed thereabove. The cushion 130,which is for providing the cushioning effect to the wearer, includes therigid frame 132, which defines the inner space A corresponding to theshape of at least a part of the foot of the wearer, and the elasticmember 134, which is supported by the frame 132.

The frame 132 forms the overall external shape (i.e., approximately theshape of the foot of the wearer) of the cushion 130 and ispreferentially made of a material that is sufficiently rigid and is aslight as possible. As shown in FIG. 1, the frame 132 can be formed inthe shape of a looped curve, and the elastic member 134 is disposed inthe inner region A defined by the looped curve to support the foot ofthe wearer. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the frame 132 can be supported byan upper face of the sole 140, some or all of the elastic member 134 ispositioned in a same vertical space as the groove 145 formed in the sole140.

The elastic member 134 is supported by the frame 132 and functions tosupport the foot of the wearer. When the wearer wears the shoe 100 inaccordance with the present embodiment, the elastic member 134 isdeformed downwardly by the weight of the wearer. Here, since thedeformation space is formed below the elastic member 134 by the groove145 formed in the sole 140, the elastic member 134 can be elasticallydeformed sufficiently. When the load against the elastic member 134 isremoved later (i.e., when the wearer walks), the elastic member 134 isrestored to its original position, and by repeating these actions, thefunction similar to a trampoline can be realized through the shoe.

Meanwhile, the elastic member 134 can include a first elastic layer 134a and a second elastic layer 134 b, which are separated from each otherand disposed above and below each other, as illustrated in FIG. 2 andFIG. 3. By forming the elastic member 134 with the first elastic layer134 a and the second elastic layer 134 b that are separated from eachother, the cushioning effect by the elastic member 134 can be maximizedby a space 135 in between the first elastic layer 134 a and the secondelastic layer 134 b. Although it would be possible to form the firstelastic layer 134 a and the second elastic layer 134 b by attaching aboard shape of elastic material (not shown) to a top face and a bottomface of the frame 132 having a predetermined thickness, the presentembodiment suggests winding a rubber band repeatedly in a directionperpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the frame 132. By using thismethod, the rubber band can have the shape of crossing the inner regionA defined by the frame 132, and a dual-layer structure of elastic member134 can be realized more easily.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, by using the rubber band that is hollowinside, it is possible to expect an effect that is similar to allowingthe rubber band itself to substantially have a dual-layer structure byan internal space 134 c thereof, thereby helping to maximize thecushioning effect.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the elastic member 134 canhave a plurality of slits S formed thereon in a direction perpendicularto the lengthwise direction of the frame 132. By forming the slits S onthe elastic member 134, individual regions defined by the slits S can beelastically deformed independently, allowing the cushion 130 to entirelyadhered to the foot of the wearer more closely. While it is possiblethat the slits S are formed throughout the elastic member 134, the slitsS may be only formed at a certain portion to which the foot of thewearer is adhered, as shown in FIG. 6.

In the case of using the rubber band, as described above, the slits Scan be formed by winding the rubber band on the frame 132, without anyadditional process. Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, aportion 132 c of the frame 132 that corresponds to an arch of the footof the wearer can be protruded upwardly. Through this structure, thearch of the foot of the wearer can be sufficiently supported, therebyallowing the wearer to feel less tired.

Meanwhile, in order to prevent any discomfort in walking due to therigid property of the frame 132 in accordance with the presentembodiment, at least some portions of a front portion 132 a and a rearportion 132 b in the lengthwise direction of the frame 132 can be curvedupwardly. Through this, it is possible for the wearer to maintainnatural walking, despite the presence of the frame 132.

The upper 110 functions to protect an ankle and a top of the foot of thewearer by enveloping the foot of the wearer. The upper 110 can be madeof various kinds of materials, such as leather, synthetic resin, fabric,etc., and can be bound by various means, such as a shoelace or Velcro,lest the shoe be taken off.

Meanwhile, it shall be appreciated that an insole 120 is additionallyprovided above the cushion 130.

Hitherto, the shock absorbing shoe 100 with the cushion 130 includingthe frame 132 and the elastic member 134 has been described, but theabove-described cushion 130 can be manufactured and supplied separatelyfrom the shoe and can be applied various kinds of shoes.

Although certain embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, it shall be appreciated that there can be a very large numberof permutations and modification of the present invention by those whoare ordinarily skilled in the art to which the present inventionpertains without departing from the technical ideas and scope of thepresent invention, which shall be defined by the claims appended below.

It shall be also appreciated that many other embodiments than theembodiments described above are included in the claims of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shock absorbing shoe comprising a sole having a lower surface thereof contacted with the ground, a cushion disposed above the sole, and an upper disposed above the cushion, wherein the cushion comprises: a rigid frame defining an inner region corresponding to the shape of at least a part of a foot of a wearer; and an elastic member supported by the frame and disposed in the inner region to support the foot of the wearer, and wherein the sole has a groove formed on an upper portion thereof in order to provide a deformation space for the elastic member.
 2. The shock absorbing shoe of claim 1, wherein the elastic member comprises a first elastic layer and a second elastic layer that are separated from each other and disposed above and below each other.
 3. The shock absorbing shoe of claim 2, wherein the elastic member comprises a rubber band wound on the frame across the inner region in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the frame.
 4. The shock absorbing shoe of claim 3, wherein the rubber band is hollow inside.
 5. The shock absorbing shoe of claim 1, wherein the elastic member has a plurality of slits formed thereon in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the frame.
 6. The shock absorbing shoe of claim 5, wherein the slits are formed at a certain portion to which the foot of the wearer is adhered.
 7. The shock absorbing shoe of claim 1, wherein a portion of the frame corresponding to an arch of the foot of the wearer is protruded upwardly.
 8. The shock absorbing shoe of claim 1, wherein at least some portions of a front portion and a rear portion in a lengthwise direction of the frame is curved upwardly.
 9. A cushion for use in a shoe, comprising: a rigid frame defining an inner region corresponding to the shape of at least a part of a foot of a wearer; and an elastic member supported by the frame and disposed in the inner region to support the foot of the wearer.
 10. The cushion of claim 9, wherein the elastic member comprises a first elastic layer and a second elastic layer that are separated from each other and disposed above and below each other.
 11. The cushion of claim 10, wherein the elastic member comprises a rubber band wound on the frame across the inner region in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the frame.
 12. The cushion of claim 11, wherein the rubber band is hollow inside.
 13. The cushion of claim 9, wherein the elastic member has a plurality of slits formed thereon in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the frame.
 14. The cushion of claim 13, wherein the slits are formed at a certain portion to which the foot of the wearer is adhered.
 15. The cushion of claim 9, wherein a portion of the frame corresponding to an arch of the foot of the wearer is protruded upwardly.
 16. The cushion of claim 1, wherein at least some portions of a front portion and a rear portion in a lengthwise direction of the frame is curved upwardly. 